


Xenophilia

by Acidus



Category: Demonophobia
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-04
Updated: 2015-01-22
Packaged: 2017-10-26 20:46:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/287681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acidus/pseuds/Acidus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A girl seeks to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Sakuri Kunikai, and descends into a labyrinthine hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. limbo

All things have a beginning and an end - everyone knows this. It's especially obvious in the life cycle of a thing. A story is told and followed, from its start until its _finale._

Most times, we can't control when something starts, but we can determine where it stops. I will, of course, start from the beginning, but the whole story... is not at your privy.

It's just that it's a private matter, you understand. The secrets of gods are theirs to keep.

\--

I was rudely awakened by the infernal ringing of my alarm clock. The hands read 7:00, and I reached out, slamming down on the snooze button. I rolled over, hoping for just a few blissful moments between my warm covers.

Tragically, that was not to be, for my brother came in shortly after, calling me to get up. With a sigh, I got to washing up, sullenly putting on my school uniform. It wasn't that I didn't like school. It was just that it would be so much better if I didn't have to wake up at Satan's asscrack of dawn. At breakfast, my mom came in, face grave, and her next sentence chilled me to the bone.

"Hiroko, something happened to the Kunikais."

I froze, dropping the butter knife I was holding. It fell on my foot and kinda hurt, but I didn't care. "What?"

"It's on the local news, and the newspapers this morning. Something... look for yourself."

She handed the newspaper to me, and my eyes were drawn to the headlines, which screamed _**Mysterious disappearance of house stumps** **experts.**_

I kept on reading, but although I could understand the words, the sentences were surreal. House disappeared, with none of the surrounding homes affected. Nothing left but soil and leaking piping. Crater described as clean, almost scooped. Plumes of smoke rose from pit that later dissipated. Neighbours shocked, experts confused.

 _Mr. Kunikai was in Wakayama. Whereabouts and fate of Hana Kunikai, 43, Sakuri Kunikai, 16, and Eri Kunikai, 12_ _unknown._

No.... no! This can't be happening!

I stood up and knocked over my chair, but I **didn't care.** I bolted straight out of the house, ignoring everyone else, and ran straight to the train station to wait for a train that took much too long to arrive.

Right, I.... I suppose I should introduce who they are. That's only polite.

Sakuri's my best friend; we've been together since we were kids, and our friendship has managed to endure four years of my absence, when my dad was posted in Norway for work. Breaking the ice initially was a bit awkward, but fortunately we still had enough common ground that we were soon swapping stories and dumb jokes. I told her about lutefisk and surströmming, and she told me about managing to raise a street cat in secret for three years and magic.

We'll get to that later.  Hana, as you might have guessed, is her mother, and Eri her younger sister. Our families are quite close, although they've recently moved away.

I sat on that train, **needing** the train to go faster, while I stared helplessly at my hands. I could only think of that last sentence, over and over again. _Fate unknown._

Finally the train pulled up to my stop, and I rushed out, ignoring anyone that I bumped into or knocked against. I didn't have time for all that. Not for anything else.

_Come on!_

There were a lot more people around the neighbourhood for this time of the day, but that wasn't surprising either. I rounded the corner, took a left, and...

_Ah._

There isn't anything left to say about the house, because there wasn't much of one. Police were everywhere, holding the crowd of onlookers away from the pit, and I could see TV vans and cars everywhere. I knew what had happened. I knew that it wouldn't change a thing. But I still pushed my way to the front of the crowd, just in front of the crater, and saw... nothing. It was exactly as the article said. A pit of soil, partially flooded with water from the pipes and thick electricity cables snaking out from the dirt.

It was then that I sensed a certain.... 'scent' would be the best way to describe it, though there's nothing olfactory about it at all. It tasted unclean, sulfurous and uneasy, and I knew then that whatever had happened was something no human could ever do. It was the work of forces beyond that.

It was a hazy feeling, similar to that of being in a dream and just knowing something is something when you recall it later.

I rode the train back home in a daze. I was numb. I saw what still remained. I knew everything was gone, but it just didn't seem to be real. Everything was happening so quickly that my brain strained to play catch up.

"I'm home." I said reflexively as I opened the door. Mom was sitting at the couch, and she looked up, grief and sorrow evident on her face.

"I'm sorry, Hiroko." she said softly.

I said nothing, and went back up to my room. I fell back on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

Evening brought even worse news. The news reported that the bodies of Sakuri's mom and sister had been found at a nearby park, their condition incredibly mutilated. It was so bad that they had to use dental records to identify the victim as Eri.

I slapped my hands over my mouth, almost tasting the retch. I wanted to fucking puke.

There was no way I could get any sleep that night. Knowing what had happened to the Kunikais, knowing that Sakuri was still out there was more than enough reason.

_What the hell happened? Where did you go?_

Things didn't really improve as time went by. The case was classified as murder, and the police were on high alert for the suspects, and they approached me, in hopes that I could help find the last remaining person, but there wasn't much I could do to help either. I had literally no idea where she could have gone to, but listed off places that we frequented. I could tell they were disappointed, but they chose not to push the issue. As I watched them pile into their car, a strange niggling feeling made me think that their search would be futile. _Would you really think any ordinary person, any_ human _could do this? There's something else at play, here._

Days passed. I tried to continue life as usual. It's not like I could do anything, right? If the authorities with all of their manpower and influence couldn't find her, what good could I do?

Days passed, ticking into a week. Anxiety was gnawing at my gut. It was stupid of me, and it was too much to hope for, but maybe - just maybe. None of the humans could figure out where she had disappeared to. Maybe those that weren't could help.

For that, I needed to go to the city. There was a dingy bookshop, hidden away in a dark, ass-end of an alley, in a maze of back streets and cul-de-sacs -- Sakuri had brought me there a couple of times. You couldn't find it unless you looked really really hard and thoroughly or already know where it is. It doesn't have much customers; I'm surprised it's still in business. I opened the door of the shop and coughed a little. The room was rather dim, with only a few naked bulbs providing light tinged orange. The air was stagnant, and smelt of wood and old paper.

"Ah, hello there." A positively ancient man greeted me. His beard was pure white, and his face became a mass of wrinkles as he smiled at me. "Need anything?"

"I'll cut to the chase. I need you to tell me where the magical books are." It's weird saying that, but I set it aside. He knew what I was talking about, anyway.

He looked at me, and sniffed. "Magic isn't a toy. You don't know what you're dealing with, girl."

"I don't care about that! I need to find someone." I growled. It was dangerous, but this is actual, real life magic we're talking about, not sleigh of hand trickery bullshit to perform at parties. It can change reality - **of course it's dangerous.**

"Are you speaking of the Kunikai child?" His smile was somehow sly, as if he knew something. "I've heard of the circumstances of her and her family. Truly, my condolences are with Mr. Kunikai."

Holy hell, he makes my skin crawl. "Yes, her. Are you going to tell me where the books are, or shall I have to conduct my business elsewhere?"

He laughed. "You'll be hard-pressed to find any other place as well stocked as my own, girl. You've given me a good laugh, so I suppose I can let you into the back room. Get what you want!"

The back turned out to be a extremely small room with a shelf full of books that were coming apart. When I picked up a book, the pages spilled out in my hands. Most of them were handwritten, and the inks had smudged badly, rendering most of the writing and drawings illegible, not to mention they were in other languages altogether. The condition of the paper was incredibly poor, too. If I was too rough with them, they would crumble into pieces.

However, there was a certain thin book that turned out to be peculiarly good condition. It was a research journal of sorts, written in English and containing experimental observations and ramblings than an actual spellbook. Skimming the the texts, the entries became more hurried and paranoid towards the end, with the author hearing ghastly whispers and smoky dark tendrils creeping at the edge of his vision with greater frequency. The final entry was almost illegible, the pages almost completely covered with blood - and the words the same rusty colour. All I could make out were the words "IT COMES".

That certainly isn't ill-omened at all!

Nearly all of the observations jotted down in the book were concluded by the author that the experiment in question was a failure, but near the end of the journal, there was an uncharacteristically neat drawing of a magical circle, along with a list of reagents. It was kind of a macabre shopping list, but the author seemed confident that it would work, and would summon the 'lord of all time and space, all dimensions of reality and existence'. It definitely sounds like something out of my league, but there was nothing else I found that could have helped. I'll just have to take my chances.

\--

I read the book again once I was home to take in more of the details that I might have missed, and it was pretty heavy reading. The only clues to the identity of the author was that he was someone who was very into the occult, and seemed to have taken an interest in summoning creatures of the abyss.

An entry was dated once - the second of February, 1929. He lived in the countryside of New England, where he believed he had the privacy to conduct his experiments and worship his gods freely. He desired knowledge above all else, and regularly made sacrifices to 'the Beyond One' and wrote of what he gained from His messengers, using it to advance his own experiments. He ultimately desired to see the Beyond One Himself and not just His messengers, who he viewed as powerless and undeserving of his efforts. He _succeeded_ \- though the entries after that he wrote of the hallucinations he suffered and his increasing paranoia. The Beyond One wasn't the only one that he wished to summon, though - he wrote that He was the embodiment of all knowledge of reality, but he would truly learn best from the being that _was_ reality. The rest were the entries that I had read before, and I guessed that he had either went off the deep end or died.

Regardless of this man's fate, I had to carry on. He had never written down how to summon the Beyond One, only the other, so that was who I had to go for. The list was very much Olde Timey and stereotypically occult, since it called for candles rendered from human fat and blood freshly spilled. I supposed the first one could be made, but I'm no candlemaker, and besides, how am I supposed to break into a hospital/cosmetic clinic and check if they still store the fat from liposuctions? That's honestly a little too much.

So I used replacements. Don't judge me.

There wasn't a lot of spaces that I could use to hold the ritual - either fire risks or the chance of outside interference. The street soccer field at the outskirts of the city fit the bill: it was rarely used nowadays as it was hard to reach and it was easier to use the multipurpose halls or stadium for sports. The ground was concrete, ideal for marking and non-flammable.

I would have typically spent this weekend night at Sakuri's house, but... you know. My mom was still worried, but I told her I would be fine. As fine as using magic based on a crazy person's work to summon an unknown god thing would ever be, anyway. Once I was at the site, I put my things down and got to work. Dipping my paintbrush into a pot of oil paints, I marked out two circles, one inside the larger. Switching to a thinner brush, I transcribed the inscriptions and followed the shapes on the circles the best I could. I placed eight candles on the circles, one for each point of the octagon, and squirted blood on the candles. Being careful that the paint was dry, I took off my shoes, stepped out of the circle, and carefully lit each candle, clockwise from the northern candle. I then took up the birch rod, and swiped it in four directions to form a square.

 

 

" **Come, o lord almighty, king of all that is!** "

_North, South, East, West._

" **Let the eight stars of the Cardonate guide your blind gaze!** "

Again.

" **Part the veil of distance and dimension!** "

_Northwest, Southeast. Northeast, Southwest._

" **Appear, great lord!** "

Two squares, eight cardinal directions.

 

_| a strange gale whips through and the world around her creaks and groans and she doesn't stop chanting because deep down she knows what would happen if she does. the flames flicker, but do not fade, and in front of her a blackness begins to bubble forth, spilling thickly onto the ground, and her heart beats faster as she continues, don't stop until all of it is he_

 

_pain hammers into her skull, into her brain, squashes her thoughts into nothing. she grits her teeth and tries to continue, but the pain strikes again and she cannot help but cry out, falling to her knees, her fingers touching inside the circle and the candle light dims and goes out_

 

 

 _and so does she._ |


	2. ianua

I heard only the chirps of crickets as I opened my eyes and groaned as light flooded into my eyes. Shit, how long was I out? I tried getting up, but moving brought on a wave of nauseating pain that made me slump back onto the floor. There was something inside my skull, pressing down onto my brain, making my thoughts thick and murky. I didn't know that magic did _this_ to its wielders. I tried looking around the best I could, and the candles had gone out, pools of hardened beige in their place and the blood coagulating. I then realised that I was partially inside the circle, and _look the magic circle is supposed to protect you and seal the creature_ , but the deed was done. The blackness - where was it?

I cast my eyes around, and got nothing. Damn, it must have left when I damaged the circle or when I passed out. I stayed down for some time, waiting for the pain to subside and slowly gathering my things. When the migraine didn't cause me to see stars with each throb, I got to my feet, almost falling over with each step. I needed to get the hell away, but even just walking gave me enough trouble, never mind running.

Eventually, I reached the edges of the city, where the lights and signs did me no favours. I squinted my way to the bus stop, and only when I managed to get a seat and rest my poor abused head against the window did I think to check the time. I switched the screen on my phone and slid off the lock; it was 11PM! Must have been out for at least two hours. A few missed calls from mom, too - ugh, I'm also gonna have to answer to that, too.

Through the crushing haze, I somehow managed to get back home, though not without falling over a couple of times. Mom was home, and she was concerned to where I had been at such an hour, why I never picked up: I don't quite know how I managed to get her off my trail. It's a mixed blessing, I think. I wouldn't have been able to remember whatever nonsense I cooked up. I also somehow dragged myself to bed, and it was a Sunday afternoon when I woke up. The pressure had vanished, and I picked up the journal and looked at it again. I had succeeded in the ritual, I was sure of that, but apparently I decided it was time for a nap before anything productive could happen. Talk about a waste of time.

Please, there is no need to be disappointed.

_Holy crap, what was that? It's - it's not me. Who are you?_

I'm the one who you summoned. Who else would there be, human?

_Nobody? I was under the impression that the ritual failed._

Partially. Your reagents were low quality. Hardly enough power for anything more than a splinter to get through. Luckily for you, that splinter was enough.

_Where are you now? Don't you have to stay within the magical circle during an invocation?_

You were the one who breached the circle in the first place. In any case, I could only arrive as a purely mental construct. I latched on to you.

_So you could say that..._

I'm inside you.

I smiled a little. The being's a lot more friendly than I expected, but it beats the other alternatives. Time to get to business. _Well, I did go through that ritual for a reason. I need you to find someone._

那廻早栗. Female human, entered a pact with a devil. Transported to alternate dimension 7 1/4 days ago, four hundred and thirty two days flow in that realm.

**_THAT'S A YEAR AND A COUPLE OF MONTHS! WHAT THE HELL?!_ **

The flow of time in that realm is different. Time, concurrent to this dimension, flows faster; a minute there for a second here. It is not unusual.

God damn, the situation was worse than I thought. Not only was she stuck in another world for more than a year according to her own perspective, she had... entered a pact with a devil? Magic always complicates things. _If she's where I think she is, then it's critical that I get to her as soon as possible! Teleportation's not out of the question, isn't it?_

It can be done, but you would have to go to the same place that she was transported from. It might be easier to find her, if you retrace her movements.

No brainer; her house. I only paused to throw on a hoodie and some pants before I rushed out. _Here I go._

\--

Any gawkers had long had their fill of cratered house, as there was nobody there when I arrived. Police tape surrounded the perimeter of the crater, and the smoke had dispersed, so I could now see clearly into the hole. The water pipes had been blocked off and the electricity wires cut, though there was still a relatively low level of water. The crater was... very neat. The house was less ripped out and more scooped, just as the news had said.

Interesting; it is a demiplane. Not many humans get their own dimension; this girl is very special, indeed.

This doesn't bode well at all. Sakuri warranted enough attention to get her own level of hell? I didn't want to think that she was hiding some serious skeletons in her closet. Maybe it was just a major devil she contracted. Not like that's any better, but at least then it's less of what she did. _Let's get going. Is there anything in particular I should expect?  
_

You enter the realm of a chained lord. He will stop at nothing to be free. He speaks in technical truths, purposely misleading, and withholding of information. _Humana, cave._

The world paused. All was tinged in shades of grey, and a corona of colour began to shimmer around me, glowing brighter and richer, as if leeching hues away from the rest of the world. It all became so bright that _she had to close her eyes, her body tingling and a sudden sharp pain stabs at her heart, pulses of agony spreading outwards like ripples in water and she gasps and her hands scrape across stone._

Welcome to hell.

"It's less fire and brimstone than I thought." the girl said, getting back on her feet. She shivered; an intense cold seemed to bite right through her clothes and into her bones. The air smelt of stagnant water, and everything felt damp. "In fact, it's the exact opposite of what I thought it would be." 

'Hell' more accurately refers to a collection of planes within this realm. You are just in one of them. You may find yourself less disappointed as you travel.

"Um... actually, on second thought, I'll rather stick with cave. At least that's livable." She took wary steps, watching for signs of movement at every corner. Streaks of crimson now covered the walls, first in sporadic splatters, then in denser patches of red. In sheer, foolhardy curiosity, she touched it; they smeared when she brushed against them, leaving cold, thick liquid on her fingers. The scent of metal filled the air, and she quickly backed away, rubbing the liquid off her hands. She didn't want to have anything to do with what she thought it was.

It was then that she saw the first sign of life. There was a small, wretched thing, crawling along blindly as it dragged itself forward with its foreclaws. In comparison to its relatively stunted body, its jaws were disproportionately big, revealing rows of sharp teeth. The girl froze when she saw the thing, caught between the instinct to flee and the need to move onwards.

Pitiful creature _. _ said He of the Abyss contemptuously, and the girl let out a scream as something churned at her sides and ripped themselves out of her body. She fell heavily to the ground and she felt the things continue to churn and move but oh god she simply fuck me **SHIT** could not graa **AAAAAHHHHHH** think much **GOD I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS** beyond the **PLEASE MAKE IT STOP** pain. Something **JUST STOP JUST DON'T** seemed to **GOD IT'S EVERYWHERE** rein her in, **I CAN'T SEE** holding her back **I'M BLEEDING** from sweet unconsciousness.

Her entire body boiled in agony, and she blinked and suddenly couldn't see. Her insides roiled like live snakes and such a fresh wave of pain came that it broke past her control and she vomited, gouts of hot, metallic-tasting liquid spilling from her mouth. She retched a few more times, the fluid splashing onto the ground, and her vision began to come back to her.

Even through the swim of tears and blurred sight, she could see the massive black pool beneath her.

"What the fuck did YOU DO!!" she shouted, almost screaming. "You- what the hell!"

You need to survive. I merely changed your body so that you would receive the necessary tools to proceed.

"And asking or a little FUCKING WARNING would have been out of the question, I suppose?!" The blonde snarled, dragging herself away from the puddle of vomit. "Would have been nice to extend that basic of courtesies especially when you just - fucking do what you did!

Would it have mattered? The being said, now disdainful. Your mortal lot are ever so squeamish when it comes to matters regarding your form. You will do well to realise that it - along with anything material - is ever so malleable.

The girl's reply of "eat shi-" was cut off as she cried out again, a jolt of pain coursing through her sides.

Be quiet. Impatience tinged the voice's command. This is no time nor place for you to be throwing a tantrum. Have you forgotten why you were here, or are you going to reply with more childishness?

"Fine." The girl bit out tightly, her hands balled into fists. "I await my first instruction, o _worshipful one!_

It is a simple enough task. Pick up the creature.

Oh, sure. Just pick that fucker up with my hands, no big deal. Not like it has claws or teeth or anything. The girl thought bitterly, but she got to her feet and walked towards the creature. It didn't seem to notice her approach, so she hovered behind it, sticking out her hands, then...

Now what?

Now the tentacles extended from her back, and her eyes widened. Now the tentacles wrapped themselves around parts of the creature and pulled, ripping off its limbs and tearing it apart with frightening efficiency. Now the tentacles crushed it into pulp, splattering her with blood.

W-what....?

Kill or be killed. You cannot afford to just run and hope you will survive. Only by taking action, fighting back, can you hope to achieve any sort of success.

"This... this is a little too heavy for me." The girl stammered, staring at the blood on her hands in horror. "I... I don't..."

It is too late for regrets or hesitation, girl. Welcome to hell.


	3. tentigo

 

More than a few moments passed before the girl responded, her eyes drawn away from the gory mess in front of her. “Don’t you think this is asking a little too much of me?”  
  
Hardly. It is what is expected of you, what’s _required_ of you, if you want your life to continue for any more than five minutes. It doesn’t necessarily have to be with brute force, of course… but the creatures of this plane fail to appreciate cleverness.   
  
“ _Look,_ I understand that I’ll probably have to do stuff like that, right? It doesn’t change the fact that before all this, the most violent thing I did was play paintball.  I’ve had nothing that would prepare me to kill other beings!” She threw her arms up. “Can’t you at least understand that?”  
  
Well, if you wish. I’ll let you have firsthand experience with the creatures here; you’ll soon find yourself gaining a new perspective.   
  
“There’s no need to be patronising.” The girl gritted out, but she got up, her hand holding onto the wall as she rose. The things – the tentacles on her back writhed, but she ignored it along with the shudder of disgust. _After all, there are far worse that could happen due to possession by an eldritch thing. Aren’t there?_  
  
Fools would be fools.  
  
She should have suspected that something was wrong, with all the creatures all shying away, as if in fear that the creature she carried within her would contaminate and wither them to husks. Knowing where she was, she should have at least been watchful. Alert. Instead, she passed the circle by, understanding but never truly _grasping_ the gravity of her situation.  
  
But that is all understandable, given what she is. Idiocy is her birthright and inheritance.  
  
It was there then, at that empty hallway, that perhaps, she finally began to understand her position. She felt the rumblings of the stone below her, and tensed for a confrontation. Even so, her eyes widened when she saw the worm lunging at her out of the walls and missing her by a hair, proceeding to tunnel down into the floor and scattering rock in its wake. With how fast it travelled and it choosing to hide inside the stone, there was no way she could have countered its attacks in time.  
  
Nevertheless, the girl didn’t give up. Instead, she picked up a rock, and hurled it at the ground in front of her, prompting the worm to dive down from the ceiling and shoot straight through the rock like tissue before a blowtorch. She hefted another rock, and cast it far behind her, letting the worm burrow through solid slade before she nodded. The rock throws wasn’t very loud, so it couldn’t have been sound. Tracking its prey through vibrations sounded about right.  
  
Quickly gathering more stones, she scattered them around, while moving forward at an agonisingly slow pace. Running would have given her position right away, and she took care that her steps were measured and even, making them difficult to distinguish from the fall of rocks. Her plan seemed to be working; the worm was wildly attacking empty air, and her heart beat fast. She could do it - all through her own power.  
  
She was almost the opposite of the girl that came before her, trying to outsmart the worm and succeeding in doing so.  It was simply too bad that a rock just _happened_ to bounce off the wall and clatter back towards her, and the worm burst out of  the floor, wrapping itself around her in a crushing hold.  
  
She wheezed and clawed at the beast, but those descended of Leviathan are covetous and never let go of what they desire. It coiled tighter, catching her in an inescapable grip, and she cried out, a yell turning into a scream as audible _snaps_ sounded. Her death was imminent and inevitable. The fact that she got all the way here without falling was commendable, we agreed.  
  
Then something curious occurred.  
  
The worm’s surface began to wriggle and bulge, as if there were things underneath it, and protoplasmic tentacles ripped their way out of its body, thrashing around as they did so. The beast immediately let go, but more tentacles burst from its body, tearing it into pieces. Overwhelmed, it fell, its body still squirming with black tendrils like maggots feasting on festered flesh.  
  
The girl bit back a scream as she tumbled onto the floor and fell on her back. She breathed shallow, and even that stabbed at her like bone shards. Moving was out of the question, and she was too dizzy from pain and adrenaline to think beyond short bursts.  
  
_Pain. Ribs. Arms. Breathe. Pain. Air, need air._  
  
You understand, do you not?   
  
The girl said nothing, simply shutting her eyes and sucking in thin mouthfuls of air.  
  
This is as a matter of course, but not much blood had been drawn. Your bones are fractured, but not shattered.  Her hand rose jerkily, and her fingers ran lightly over her sides, and she winced.  
  
This will hurt.   
  
Her hands dug and tore into her ribcage, ripping muscles away from bone, and she screamed before realising whatever agonies awaited her were being rapidly dulled. She opened her eyes, and saw a black liquid streaming out of her chest. It quickly coagulated and when she breathed in again, and the pain had vanished.  
  
“What... was that?” Her hand touched the substance, feeling a smooth shell. It brought to mind matte carapaces. "You..."  
  
Flesh is easy to heal, is it not? You could be grown back from an atom.   
  
Suddenly, she felt very sick, all the way to the pit of her stomach. An image of a zombie flashed before her eyes. “Does that mean I can’t die?”  
  
There is no concept of death in this realm. Your body may be torn to shreds, but you would not die. The mind stays awake the entire time, experiencing every iota of pain.   
  
_So that's the stakes._  
  
\--  
A thought struck the girl as she dropped the body of a flying imp with a shudder, her hands stained sticky with blood. "Hey, uh..."  
  
Azathoth.   
  
"Right, Azathoth." The name tasted sticky on her tongue. "Is it possible to make a weapon?"  
  
( _It’s not that easy to kill whenever you’re holding it by the throat and it’s flapping its wings panickedly, isn’t it? Girl._ )  
  
“I can’t keep this up. It’s... disheartening.”  
  
If they had their way, you would be disheartened in the literal sense. There’s no reason to feel pity for them.  
  
“Okay, disheartened wasn’t the right word. It’s more... disturbing? I literally have to tear off their limbs so they won’t try to climb on me or peck my eyes out. Not to mention I have to get close and pick them up. That’s so dangerous it’s just stupid.”  
  
There is a way, but it will involve bloodletting.   
  
“Uh... is this going to end up with me on the floor crying from the pain again?”  
  
There will be some, but none too significant.   
  
She sighed. "Alright, hit me up."  
  
Her shadow writhed, and something slashed across her palm, deep enough to draw a thick black liquid instead of blood.  
  
_Try not to think about what you're becoming._  
  
The liquid seemed to pulse in her hand, and she closed her eyes, envisioning the thin black line stretching outwards and as she felt it flowing over her palm, thought of moulding it into a _...sword? Spear? Something that keeps me away from them, but I can still attack back._  
  
She opened her eyes, and a trident, long as she was tall, laid in her hands.  
  
She gripped the handle of the trident, feeling unyielding metal press against her hand, and gave a few experimental twirls. It felt too light and smooth for its size. She swung it around a couple more times, and then stabbed the tines downwards.  
  
It easily pierced the hard rock. She lifted her arm to see deep holes, perfectly circular. Clean stab.

”Damn.” she almost whistled. It still felt weird and a little sickening that this stuff was coming out from her, but she couldn’t argue against its usefulness. “What can’t this stuff do?”

Its very nature is creation. It can become anything. You simply need to wish that it happen, and it will. 

“Anything, you say…?”

_Anything_. Its potential is limitless.

“I suppose that the downside to this wonderblood is that I can run out?”

That is so. It is possible, however, to synthesize more of it. 

“Oh! Good.” The girl smiled. “I thought that I was stuck with the five litres that everyone has trucking around inside them.”

You will need to consume biological material to replenish any biomass that you use. In your case, blood and flesh will do. 


	4. edacitas

Human, when you think of the word hell, what do you think of?  
  
Perhaps the Abrahamic classic of a lake of fire and brimstone, or the story of the Divine Comedy, where sins and the sinner are divided up neatly into rings, each deeper than the last? The cold, desolate wasteland of Niflheim, or the roots of Tartarus?  
  
The truth is that conventional afterlives don’t exist. Maintaining a permanent plane solely for holding worshippers, much less unbelievers, is incredibly draining. An earthly deity only has so much power, after all.  
  
Planes with specific themes, like a land awash with milk and honey or molten sulphur lakes? Please.  
  
Instead, the souls of their believers are devoured. Their logic is that if they were true believers, they wouldn’t mind, and if they were in it as part of a gamble, it is simply their rich reward.  
  
That rarely happens nowadays. Most people fear hell more than they do god, and worship a religion more than its deity. If it’s just one or two souls, they don't go anywhere, but spread across a plane for thousands of years, their belief forms their own realm. Their belief empowers their own tormentors.  
  
I am Asmodeus, the one they call the Prince of Lechery, Lady of Lusts, ruler of the Burning City. Welcome, all ye voyeurs.  
  
\--  
  
I don't care about planar entrances much. Amateurs playing at magician rarely possess value, and are just more toys for the specters. The lesser demons make short work of them.  
  
But I could feel it, when Ahriman, or whatever the specters called him these days, was summoned. It was magic that ran older than civilization, one that used the energy of life itself in sacrifice. I was interested. I watched – I would have been remiss in my duties otherwise – and the girl indeed possessed the ability. Never before had I seen such incredible potential.  
  
Of course, it would be that such talent was wasted on a weakling like her. She breached his prison, but refused to finish the ritual, and escaped his anger alive.  
  
Wherever she is now - it's not worth bringing her in. I missed the opportunity, and she's broken. Fixing her is more trouble than it’s worth.  
  
The second girl is… different. That is all that we know for sure. Using unknown magic of a nameless patron, she tore her way inside, and has been unfettered in her operation. Nobody moves so much of a hair in this realm without the specters’ knowledge.  
  
It’s the first piece of interesting news in a while.  
  
Of course, the specters will try to kill her, but that goes without saying. She’ll live.  
  
Perhaps I’ll watch, too.  
  
\--  
  
The girl leapt away from the red giant, only grunting as she tumbled to avoid the beam shooting out from its core, an ominous rumbling occurring with each blast. The air crackled with ozone in its wake, and sweat ran down her skin in long droplets.  
  
A void gnawed at her core, but she ignored it.  
  
She had tried many times to form another weapon, but each time all that came to her was a blackened, twisted trident. She finally stopped after that creature had warned her that she would have to replenish her biomass supply if she continued. She would have to consume.  
  
_Consume. Like some mindless… thing._  
  
If she could flank it, attack the tubes that held its chest and pelvis together - she could take out the orb nestled within and stop the laser blasts. That would give her some breathing space, if not stop the giant altogether. The problem was that the area was small and cramped, leaving her little room to maneuver, and the giant had reach longer than her trident’s, mitigating her advantage of agility. Everything she did in the fight so far was only to avoid being caught by the giant's fists.  
  
The multiple laser blasts also seemed to be taking a toll on the slade. Dust and rock rained down with each beam, and she vaguely wondered how much more the walls could take. The room caving in might stop it, but then there would be nothing else she could do.  
  
_A second. A moment’s distraction - that’s all I need -_  
  
As if to answer her prayer, a rather large chunk of rock fell on top of the giant, and it stumbled backwards, as if in pain –  
  
_THERE!_  
  
With a loud cry, the girl leapt forward, swinging the trident towards the guts of the giant. The prongs of the polearm caught within the mess of tubes, and she quickly twisted her weapon, tangling the tubes around the tines and exposing the orb. If she could just reach and touch it–  
  
A heavy fist then slammed straight into the side of her head, but all it caused was a ripple across the surface, sinking slightly into her skull. Momentarily stunned, the girl’s mouth twisted into an ugly, savage grin of triumph and her hand lunged forward, fist closing around the twinkling orb. With a powerful jerk, she ripped out the sphere, blue fluid gushing from the torn tubes and out of the orb.  
  
The giant’s chest flopped backwards, and the girl flung the sphere behind her, descending upon the creature with maniacal lights in her eyes. Her hands ripped and tore at the tubes, drenching her arms slick with blood. Only when there was nothing but bloody strips of flesh did she stop, to admire her handiwork.  
  
The smell of iron hit her nose, and she shivered. The void bit more sharply. Her mouth began to salivate. She was so... hungry.

  
**HUNGRY**

  
_It’s not like anyone else is here. It’s not like anyone would know. You need the biomass to get stronger, to have some room for error. To be able to save her._

  
**HUNGRY!!!**

  
_You’d do it, wouldn’t you? To save Sakuri?_

  
**HUNGRY!!!!!**

  
Slowly, and trembling, she sat down, leaning over the bloddy mess of ~~flesh~~ **MEAT** , and opened her mouth.

  
\--

  
Sakuri shivered, fearfully looking around her surroundings as she aimlessly walked forward. Walking was better than staying put. Staying put would mean being found. Being found…

  
_NO! NO NO NO NO! STOP THINK._

  
She shook her head violently, tousling her already messy hair. Thinking was bad. Bad, painful evil thoughts. Less bad to keep her mind fuzzy. Empty. Void.

  
Peace.

  
Everything was silent.

  
She recognised a red, rusted door. As she turned the handle and crept in, a small field filled with desiccated, oval maroon growths greeted her. As she continued, her heart began to hammer madly in her chest, and panic dispelled her comforting emptiness, shining the terrible light of clarity.

  
She was at the threshold of her house, whatever remained of it. The last time she was inside, it had been warped into a nightmarish version of itself, ugly yellow veins running over the (crimson, stained) walls. It had been invaded by demons, and the possessed bodies of her mother and sister.

  
The walls were white.

  
Slowly, carefully, ready to flee, she took a single step forward through the doorway.

  
Her bare feet squeaked against the wooden floor, but everything was silent.

  
She took a look around, bracing herself for whatever that would come, but there was nothing. The kitchen was clean; the only difference from normality being the thick layer of dust collecting on the counter tops and tables. No blood stains on the floor. No dismembered body of her little sister. No crazed, cannibalistic monstrous mother.  
Sakuri blinked, somewhat surprised to find tears stinging her eyes. She sniffled and brushed them away, taking in a few deep breaths to calm her shaky nerves. There was nothing she could have done for them. The demons had gotten them long before she had awakened.

  
The bathroom was similarly unaffected, and neither was her younger sister’s room when she walked in. It was normal, if untidy - Eri had never been one to pick up after herself. Her now mildewed books laid scattered all over her desk, while piles of damp clothes collected against the frame of the bed. They, too, were mouldy - not that she would have been able to wear them, small as Eri was.

  
Soft toys were arranged around an enormous pillow, and Sakuri smiled bitterly as she focused on a particular plush dog. It had been a crane game prize, and Eri had almost cried when Sakuri remarked that it was probably unobtainable. Hiroko had decided to persist, and finally got the plushie on her final 100 yen.

  
(Hiroko had said that Eri's smile was worth it. A cold, ugly emotion stabbed at her heart, and she had turned away a little too forcefully. )

  
There was only one place left that she hadn't checked: her old room. Sakuri climbed the stairs, willing herself to be calm. Her heartbeat sounded so loud in the silence, and she was afraid that something would hear. The fear gripped her hard, freezing her mid-step.  
_Don’t risk it. Don’t get closer. Run, while you still can, while nothing’s seen you._

  
But everything else was quiet. The demons in her own mind would never be banished, but they could be quieted. She had to see for herself.

  
Her foot squeaked on smooth wood. Her breath hitched. Stepping off the top flight, she turned to her left, down the hallway that led to her room. Without realising it, her steps had became slower and slower as she approached. With trepidation, her hand closed over the doorknob, and turned.

  
There was nothing.

  
Her room had stayed exactly the same as she had left it that night, just before she went to bed. The marks on the floor, where she had tried rather unsuccessfully to erase, part of a devil’s supposed summoning circle. Pools of wax where candles had stood. Dark spots within the middle of a rubbed out circle. Her blood.

  
The door slammed shut with a bang, and Sakuri was already running down the stairs. NO!

  
_NO!_

  
**_NO!_ **

  
She had to leave. She had to leave right **fucking** now, fuck everything else. Nearly slipping on the floor in her panic, Sakuri ran, faster than she ever could have, her mind furiously burying the fresh wave of memories that threatened to overwhelm.

  
It was all her fault. Her fault, her fault, her fault. It was all her fault she was here and her mother and sister was dead. It was her fault Ritz had scorned her and left. It must then surely be her fault that she had been wandering aimlessly within an empty, desolate labyrinth, her only company being her own guilt.

  
She would have just died, and let the demons tear her body apart. But they had disappeared, and taken even that away from her.

  
She laughed, hollow and mirthless. If God existed, he must surely despise cowards.

  
\--

  
With a solid right hook, the metal disc shattered open, revealing a tiny, orange demon in the middle. Ignoring its squeals, the girl tore it out roughly from its shell, sneering at its true diminutive size. It wasn’t even enough to serve as a snack for the warmup that overpowering the disc demon had been.

  
Pathetic. What a waste of time.

  
The girl crushed the demon in her fist, ignoring its squeal, and her flesh enveloped and swallowed the remains of the creature. With that, she had defeated three major demons, even if this one didn't measure up to much. She was getting better at this, no doubt thanks to the power bump that eating the Wrath demon had been. (Azathoth had explained shortly after she had spit out her first mouthful of demon flesh, spitting and retching, that she wasn’t supposed to literally _eat_ it.)

  
You engulf it, digest it and absorb it. Consuming, is it not?

  
The girl scowled at the memory.

  
Semantics aside, the girl thought that the layout of the plane certainly made travel convenient. She had hypothesized that the plane had been divided into layers, lying on top of each other. Within these layers were anchor points, intersections between the layers where the demarcation of each layer was especially weak, making travel easy. If anyone wanted to regulate traffic between those layers, it made sense to guard those points.

  
Sliding down a bare metal ladder, the girl closed her eyes, and focused on the ever-present hunger within her gut, willing herself to sense flesh. Find something big, and strong - it would be a greater demon, blocking off the pathways. Since Sakuri was here, and the only question was where she was, if she explored the entire plane, sooner or later she’d find her.

  
It was a pretty crappy plan, to be honest, but possibilities were short in supply. The walls around her seem to pulse. The girl frowned, and came to a stop.

  
A spatial anomaly?

  
The space in front of her was enchanted. She seemed to be making no progress walking forward, but going backwards wasn’t any trouble, so it must have been a sort of magical barrier preventing egress. Once again, the girl closed her eyes, trying to extend her consciousness in front of her. Beyond her "shoot things out with her body goo" ability, she was completely clueless about any other types of magic. If she knew the properties of the barrier, she could probably figure something out.

  
...Є. Modification of displacement. Until it is dispelled, it sends anyone who passes through it back before it.

  
“I honestly don't know what to do with that.” the girl said. “The most I could do is chuck a trident, and it’ll probably teleport behind me and stab me in the shoulder or something.”

  
For a moment, Azathoth seemed hesitant. Until now, the use of your... _our_ power has been limited to creating physical weapons, like the tridents, or your additional appendages. It is physical self-transmutation, which has let you hold your own so far, but now is the time to actually use magic.

  
“What do you mean by that?”

  
To keep it short, the basis of magic is channeling energy in a controlled manner to express a desired effect. You have some experience - as sloppy as my summoning was, it was still a successful summoning ritual - but you have no background in magic and no knowledge of runes or sigils, so being unable to craft spells, you would not be able to access the true depth of our power even if you desired it. 

  
”I hope you aren’t relying on me to be good at studying, because I’m… not.”

  
Typically, becoming competent at magic would require thousands of hours of study and practice of sigils – and crafting custom sigils requires even more time in magical theory. Magic is not for the faint of heart, or little of brain – but fortunately for you, that is where I come in. 

  
The girl felt apprehension, but Azathoth hadn’t led her astray so far, even if she didn’t follow entirely willingly at times. She would just have to believe that

  
Understand that I cannot share the entire depth of my knowledge with you in a single instance – it would only overwhelm and confuse you. Instead, what I will impart upon to you are the necessary ones to reveal and dispel the displacement barrier, along with the basics of this type.

  
It felt strange, having the sigils directly passed into her brain. It was like remembering an old fact, the kind that required a little digging but that which presented itself nonetheless. Shapes associated with meaning were suddenly remembered: an ovoid with a vertical bisection indicated _sight_ , a singular concentric circle represented _space_... It was initially a bit overwhelming, but the girl soon found herself able to recall the sigils at a thought.

  
Another privilege of our power is that spells do not need to be physically drawn. Humans integrate somatic, verbal and material components into the casting process as a focus for proper energy channeling, but you only need to imagine them in your mind's eye and focus.

  
_Let's give it a shot..._

  
•SIGHT•SPELL•BARRIER•SPACE•

  
The spell materialised before her eyes, a transparent circle pulsing with energy and impressive in its complexity. She got as close to the barrier as she could without walking into it, and put her hand through the spell circle. Nothing happened, and she leaned her body forward...

  
... and she stepped through empty space, the spell a few meters in front of her again. _Seems like the barrier only kicks in if enough material passes through it? I thought it might be something like Portal.Oh well, enough, that's enough fooling around._

  
•DISPEL•SPELL•BARRIER•SPACE•

  
The energy in the barrier stopped, and the barrier slowly began to fade, revealing a large red door in the distance, shimmering into visibility like a mirage. The girl took one step forward, and the door still seemed to be about the same size.

  
_Yay, it works!_

  
The girl proceeded down the corridor, letting her blood flow and twist itself into a long trident. There was a demon on the other side of the door, and it was better to get the drop on it, since she didn’t know what she would be dealing with. She marched in through the door with her jaw set in a determined line, and instead of the demonic beast she had been expecting, a breathtakingly beautiful woman met her instead, positioned on a seat hewn from shadow with a neutral expression fixed upon her face and a crown hung on a silver loop tied across her hip. At the sight of her, the woman’s lips twitched upwards in a small, polite smile, and stood up, banishing the seat with a wave of her hand.

  
“I have been awaiting your arrival, child of God.” the woman said.


	5. avarities

The girl immediately speared her trident forward, throwing her weight into the attack. The woman took a step to the side, the thrust whizzing past harmlessly, and like lightning spun around the girl, seizing her wrists.

“That’s not polite, you know.” The woman murmured into the girl’s ear, tightening her grip. The girl hissed and dropped her weapon, it making an oddly heavy thump as it hit the floor. "Is your culture's custom to attack anyone who greets you?"

The girl flushed in anger, shadows writhing around her. "What do I have to say to you? What do you have to say?!” The shadows stiffened, then whipped towards the woman, intending to tear her from limb to limb -

\- the woman kneed her in the groin, and the tendrils were banished back to harmless smoke as the girl cried out. Her body sagged as her legs trembled, and the woman let go of her wrists to land a powerful left hook on her back of her head. Concussed, the girl fell limply on her side, and she weakly tried to crawl forward, and was floored again by a kick. The woman stomped on her head, pinning her down.

“I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll put it aside as a matter of cultural difference this time, but I’ll prefer not to be attacked in the future, yes?” The woman continued sweetly, as though she hadn’t been interrupted. The girl chafed, but she was dazed and in too much pain to fight back. Past her fear and anger, she was just a tiny bit curious. The demon was actually offering to speak.

“Fine.” she gasped. “Let’s fucking talk. I am Hiroko, and I am here to look for someone.”

The woman hummed happily. “There we go. I knew we could get to talk like civilised beings. I am Duke Gamory, serving under Lord Asmodeus. My liege wishes to speak with you.”

Now Hiroko was quiet. While she wasn’t a demonologist, she certainly recognised the name Asmodeus. He was a Prince of Hell, who aligned himself with the sin of lust. “Why is he interested in me?”

Gamory curled a strand of hair around a finger. “That is for her to explain. I am here to relay her message and to guide you to her court in Dis.”

Given that we were unable to defeat this demon, and she is but a vassal to the least martially inclined lord of demons, I suppose we aren’t at a position to refuse. However...

“I’ll go.” Hiroko said. “But that friend of mine I mentioned earlier? Still haven’t found her yet. I’m not going anywhere else without her.”

The duke tilted her head in puzzlement. “Another human? Within this plane?”

Ice stole over Hiroko’s insides. _Azathoth?!_ She thought furiously.

I am not wrong. The voice stated quietly. I detected the magic used at the site, and traced it to this dimension.  

Hiroko was quiet, wide-eyed as a horrible realisation dawned upon her. “But no guarantees about afterwards.” she whispered.

_I had been wasting my time all this while. Sakuri was long gone._

A mocking smirk came to Gamory’s lips, though Hiroko couldn't see it with the devil's boot on her neck. “You can rule out searching any farther. Of all places, you intruded into this particular plane, and without the summoner’s pact to boot. Had you not been suitably altered, you would have died within an hour.”

The girl was silent, chewing on her lip in frustration. “Can Asmodeus help me find Sakuri?”

“It would be unlikely that a devil lord not know the domain that she rules over.” Gamory replied.

“Then let’s go.”

\--

The journey had been almost disappointingly short and simple. Gamory conjured a portal, creating with a slash of her hand a literal incision on the fabric of reality. There was a strange wrenching feeling in her gut as Hiroko stepped through the narrow portal, as if she was being thrown in all directions at the same time, but her foot hitting hard brick grounded her.

Hiroko winced, the sudden brightness searing her eyes. Her vision slowly faded back in, and she realised that she had arrived at a path between trimmed hedgerows and rows of riotously colourful flowers, with a forest of evergreens behind her.  There was an enormous palace in the distance, its facades imperial and intimidating.  The garden was landscaped to an almost unnatural degree – not a single leaf or branch fell out of place. It reminded her of a bottled bonsai tree.

“Beauty elicits desire.”  Gamory’s voice came from behind her, and the duke continued on the path, motioning for Hiroko to follow. “Lust isn’t necessarily sexual. It simply reflects want.”

“Kinda late for elaborations on what you stand for.” Hiroko replied, jogging a little to catch up with Gamory’s fast pace. “I know what Asmodeus represents. I wouldn’t have agreed to come along if I didn’t.”

“Do you, now?” The demon laughed, the sound high and mocking. “One of the oldest devil lords extant, feared and respected by her peers, second in ambition only to Lucifer – and you believe a page in the Lemegeton would fully describe her essence?”

“Um.” Hiroko was beginning to have second thoughts about this meeting.

“That’s what I thought.” Gamory continued, sounding incredibly smug. “Most grimoires are fake in any case.”

They were finally approaching the palace, and if Hiroko thought it was big when she looked at it from afar, it was positively colossal now. The pillars alone must have been at least a hundred metres tall, with what seemed to be handsome atlases supporting the ceiling.  An ocean liner could probably pass through the arch.

The inside of the palace was no less ornate, with luxuriously stitched carpets covering the marble floor, and statues and paintings of scattered eras and regions lining the hallways. It seemed to Hiroko that Asmodeus had too many treasures to have enough space to display them, yet was too vain to lock them away in a vault.

Gamory finally stopped in front of a blocked archway. The smooth obsidian slab was incongruous with its surroundings, the plain, featureless surface of the rock standing in sharp contrast with the slavishly detailed frame.  The demon brought her hand to the stone, forming a magical circle in between her palm and the door. The arch rumbled, and the slab slid away to reveal a court of demons and their regent.

If Hiroko had thought that Gamory was beautiful, then the woman sitting on the throne was almost painfully attractive. Curled, ram horns erupted out of her side swept raven hair, boasting her nature to the entire world. Her red and black mermaid gown emphasized her curves, showing off plenty of light red skin. A slit in the gown revealed her left leg, a bird’s claw starting from the thigh, but to Hiroko, it did not detract from the devil’s overwhelming beauty. She held a cane in her hands, the black body polished to a gleaming finish.

Asmodeus smiled lazily, but did not move. Gamory approached the throne, stopping at a respectful distance, and bowed.  “Milady, I present: the human child.”

All eyes now fell on Hiroko, who withered under the attention. “U-uh…” she stammered. “I-I am Arakida Hiroko, human… summoner?” She wasn’t quite sure on that latter bit, but she continued. “I am here on the invitation of Lord Asmodeus.”

This seemed to cause a stir, murmurs beginning to form from the crowd of demons, but a single tap from Asmodeus’s cane silenced them all.

To the demons, she commanded. “Leave us. I have need to speak to this human in private.” She then raised her head slightly towards Gamory in acknowledgement. “You have done well. You are dismissed.”

Nobody questioned her. Gamory curtseyed, and turned to follow the demons filing quickly out of the room. The thud of the archway sliding shut echoed in the cavernous gallery, leaving only Hiroko and Asmodeus in the room. The skin on the back of her neck crawled, and she tried to ignore it.

“Come closer.” The devil said. “It is inconvenient for me to walk in my condition.”

Is she admitting weakness right off the bat? Nevertheless, Hiroko approached the dais, stopping at a respectful distance.  “Gamory said that you’ll give me a complete explanation as for why you’ve called me here, so…”

“I have been watching you ever since you first came into this realm, little valiahad.” Asmodeus stroked her cane, her eyes fixed on Hiroko. “Your progress has been nothing short of astonishing – after all, who would expect a human to adapt to eldritch power so well? Lesser humans would have succumbed long ago, to insanity or death. You’re just… _different_.”

This wasn’t very reassuring.

“Your plan to scour the caged plane might have worked if it wasn’t, of course, doomed to failure. That plane has long been vacated by its intended prisoner and his wardens. It would have been a waste of your time and more importantly, mine, for you to scratch around like a fool.” Hiroko deflated somewhat. She knew that her plan sucked, but dammit, to be told like this…

“Which brings you here. Let’s get to the point – I am interested in watching your power develop. It is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and believe me; I have been around for a very long time.” The devil smiled, though to Hiroko it seemed to be more baring her teeth than a show of mirth. “At the same time, there are tasks that I require to be performed… I trust you understand what I mean.”

Hiroko’s mouth was suddenly very dry. “You want me to work for you?” she croaked.

“You will be well compensated, of course. You were looking for a girl, weren’t you?” At this, Hiroko narrowed her eyes, and Asmodeus smirked. “I will help you find her, though the actual rescue will be up to you. You will also be accommodated here for the duration of your stay - as well as any additional companions, of course.”

“Exactly what kind of _task_ are we talking about here?” _I hope it’s nothing sexual_ almost made it out of her mouth, but she shut up before she could say anything that gave the demon ideas.

“Elimination. My servants are most excellent at infiltration and gathering intelligence, but they are certainly not suited for combat – which is where you come in. They are my eyes and ears, and shall you accept, you will be my blade, striking wherever necessary.”

That was actually quite reasonable. It was scary to realise, but she was actually very good at killing things. However, it raised a question. “Wait, what about Gamory then? She beat the shit out of me - isn't she one of your servants?”

“ _Servant?_ No. She is a vassal - she has sworn fealty and pays tribute, but I would not insult her to call her a _servant_. In any case, her martial prowess was what made her suitable for the task of -- _persuading_ you to join us here, but she is one devil."

 _One devil_ , Hiroko mused, turning the phrase over in her head. The contract seemed lopsided at first, but she also heard what went unsaid, that most of the devil lord's forces were unsuitable for combat, and she probably relied on soft power like diplomacy and blackmail to stay afloat. Asmodeus might even be good at fighting, too - but getting personally involved would be beneath her dignity and thus unthinkable. There was a lot of leverage that she could use, even within the ironclad terms that the devil lord would surely bargain for.

"I accept your proposal." Hiroko said, finding her own voice suddenly too loud in the cavernous hall of Asmodeus' empty court. With a wave of the devil lord's hand, a furled scroll appeared in a flash of crimson fire. Unrolling it, Asmodeus dictated the terms of the contract while a magical quill etched it into being. The terms of the contract was framed in the archaic and arcane legalese of the devils that even spoken aloud, Hiroko could neither make heads nor tails of its contents. When the devil was done, Asmodeus tapped the bottom of the scroll, and floated it over to Hiroko, the quill following suit. “Sign here, in your full name and thumbprint in blood.”

“Arakida Hiroko.” The blonde said, and the quill leapt into action, writing her name down onto the contract. With a flash of a bladed tentacle, she cut a small wound on her hand, running the blood over her forefinger and thumb to spread it around. She pressed her thumb down onto the parchment next to her name, and the scroll glowed and divided into two. One copy stayed with Hiroko, and the other flew back to Asmodeus.

“The contract is complete. From now on, you are my subordinate, answering directly to me. You will enjoy my protection and hospitality, though outside of this domain other devil lords will certainly be less charitable. If you have a request, I may consider it, and it will have its own price.”

“Well, can I ask a few more questions? I get that a lot happened, but I'm not sure exactly what did.”

Asmodeus stroked the ornamental bull's head of her cane. “Ask and I will answer.”

There were a lot of questions swirling around in the girl’s head, but she started off with the most burning query. “That plane – just who was it supposed to trap? You mentioned a prisoner at the beginning, and his wardens.”

“He goes by many names and masquerades, but his true name is Angra Mainyu.  He is a spirit of destruction that was cast down into this realm by a powerful divinity that has since faded away, and he has been seeking to return to the human world ever since. Should he return to the mortal plane, however, it will surely be destroyed, and us devil lords have an interest in keeping Earth the way it is, given that it is a constant supply of souls. We sealed off that plane to ensure that nothing could leave, and each of us contributed guardians to protect it from intruders and ensure that their time there is short-lived.”

“Woah, wait, so Sakuri of all people teleported herself into that plane? I would have assumed you kept that stuff locked down tight.” Hiroko exclaimed in shock. The idea that her shy, timid friend would have the power or inclination to visit an imprisoned evil was patently ridiculous at best. It was true that she had been interested in the occult, but it was in the understanding that pretending it was real was what made it entertaining.

“While I do not know the specifics, my servants have come up with a hypothesis based on information sourced from the guardians. This human girl of yours has not only magical potential, but an affinity for demonology not seen in mortals for centuries. She somehow obtained a copy of a working magic circle coded to summon Angra Mainyu into the human world and performed the ritual, but due to the seal we cast, it couldn’t leave. Instead, the spell worked in the other direction, instead pulling the human into that plane. “

“The realm of spirits is inherently temporally hermetic - timeless. Without the flow of time, injuries inflicted on the flesh do not naturally heal, but death does not exist in a realm that exists outside the concept of death. Angra Mainyu took your human under his wing, and each time she was slain, he put her body back together, acting as encouragement along the way to ensure that she would not give up like those before her, promising that she could return to the mortal world, and suppressed her memories so that she could remain functional. She performed the unthinkable - she eluded all of our guardians, and met him at his binding circle. The final part of the ritual is enacting equivalent exchange so that Angra Mainyu could be transferred to the mortal realm while the girl stayed behind, but she resisted, and fought against him. With the aid of the specters, she frustrated his efforts in returning, but he found that he could now move out of the plane, and did so.”

“He is now in the in between, the twisting void between dimensions. It is difficult to survive there, but he will do whatever it takes to return to the human world.” Asmodeus finished, and Hiroko was speechless, barely processing the story as it was.

“Then, Sakuri? What about Sakuri?” she asked.

“That’s all my servants have to report, so nobody knows.” Asmodeus admitted, looking discontent at the information gap. “All we know is that she is no longer in that plane as well. Our guardians have been restored, so if anyone came, we would know. Which is where you enter the story.”

“So you don’t know where she is, other than that she couldn’t be in the prison? So how do you intend to help me find her?” That came out a little more bitter than intended, but Hiroko was beginning to feel anger bubble in her gut, and her shadow began to writhe. _She could deliberately draw out the search to extract as much value from me as she can - **Made no mistake, I am not her - or anybody's bootlick!**_

“Well, she has a flesh body, so she can’t be in the between, which narrows it down to… all the other planes in Hell.” Asmodeus caught the look in the blonde’s eye, and smirked. “Contain yourself, valiahad. We signed a contract, and I’m not Greed. I mean what I say, and I have a plan.”

“...fine.” Hiroko closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. No need to blow her stack and make everything worse. “Tell me this plan.”

“Divining her location will most likely be the easiest part - _once_ I have some idea what to look out for. Anything that still retains her presence would help expedite the process. The real challenge will most likely lie in venturing into another lord's realm and retrieving her in one piece -- I **did** say they would be less charitable. Take it as an opportunity to hone your abilities, and who knows? Perhaps Angra Mainyu might appear.”

“If he does, I’ll kill him.” Hiroko said, very quietly. Where there had been red-hot rage now burned ice-cold purpose. It wasn't a threat, or even a promise; it was a statement.

"That’s the spirit.” Asmodeus replied, almost cheerfully. “You’ll need to be far stronger than you currently are to even think of going against him. One step at a time, though. You’re no use to me if you're dead.”

“I’m touched by the depths of your concern.” the girl said dryly. “Are we finished here? I think I'd like to retire in those accommodations you spoke of.”

“Well, if you’re looking to relax, I’m sure one of my girls can ease all the tension from your bones. They’d know you’re a virgin so they’ll take _special_ care of you.” Asmodeus smirked, watching Hiroko blush tomato red.

“U-uh, no thanks!” The girl spluttered. Where was this even coming from? The full weight of her situation hit her again, and _ah, right..._

“Oh, you like it rough? I didn't think you were the bondage type... but you definitely look like a bottom.” Asmodeus remarked, looking her up and down.

“I’m not like that!” Hiroko yelled, too flustered to think of anything more clever. “I just want to do some actual sleeping, nothing lewd involved!”

“Oh, girl, you break my heart." the Prince of Lust laid the back of her hand on her head melodramatically. "Coming and then rolling over to sleep? Not even pillow talk? I had higher hopes for you than that."

**“NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”**

“Don't be such a Debbie Downer, we'll change that negativity soon enough.”

And that was how Hiroko had her first regret about contracting with Asmodeus.


End file.
